Disney Buys LucasFilm For $4.05 Billion And Plans New ‘Star Wars’ Film (Updated)

Disney has just acquired George Lucas’ Lucasfilm Ltd for $4.05 billion in cash and stock and has announced that it is now working on a new Star Wars movie to be released in 2015.

The House of Mouse will now own all of LucasFilm’s properties including its film production, consumer products, animation visual effects and audio post-production divisions. It also now has the rights to several of the revolutionary technologies brought about by George Lucas himself.

In a statement announcing the acquisition, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger says:

“Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas. This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.”

Lucas also commented on the deal stating:

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”

Kathleen Kennedy, current co-chair of Lucasfilm, will become Lucasfilm’s president answering to Alan Horn of Walt Disney Studios and will serve as the executive producer on ‘Star Wars 7’ as well as any other future ‘Star Wars’ films with Lucas serving as creative consultant.

As this news is currently developing, there will be more to come so check back for updates….

UPDATE: Below is the video of Disney’s CEO Bob Igor and George Lucas talking about the next phase of the ‘Star Wars’ franchise.

Janice Kay

Janice's first memories of the genre were of watching the original 'Star Trek' and classic 'Doctor Who' episodes (Tom Baker, aka the Fourth Doctor, was her first). Soon, she was introduced to 'Godzilla' and her addiction then spread to books, magazines, movies and comics. Janice continued as a closet geek as her thirst and love for sci-fi grew and was only second to her love of baking. Then one night, on a whim, she answered a tweet to be a writer for ScienceFiction.com and the geek girl insider her was soon set free. Within 3 years she became the Senior Editor for the site. When not writing or editing for ScienceFiction.com, Janice is scouring the internet to feed her sci-fi cravings while defending conspiracy theories, protecting scientific theorems and loving all things science fiction.... and baking cookies.